Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the leader of the Taliban has been killed in a US air strike, the Afghan Government said on Sunday.

Mullah Akhtar Mansour is comprehended to have died in Saturday’s strike, which targeted the leader and another combative as they ride in a vehicle in a remote territory of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, southwest of the town of Ahmad Wal, close to the border with Afghanistan.

The office of the Afghan President, Ashraf Gilani, confirmed the death on Twitter.

On Saturday the US bureau of Defence said it had led the strike focusing on Mansour in a remote zone of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border region. It didn’t affirm Mansour’s demise; however on authority told AP he was accepted to have been murdered alongside another male in the assault, which occurred on south-west of the Pakistan town of Ahmad Wal.

The Pentagon statement said Mansour was “the leader of the Taliban was actively involved with planning attacks against facilities in Kabul and across Afghanistan, presenting a threat to Afghan civilians and security forces, our personnel and coalition partners”.

“Mansour has been an obstacle to peace and reconciliation between the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban, prohibiting Taliban leader from participating in peace talks with the Afghan government that could lead to an end to the conflict”.

The Afghan government said it had been informed of the drone strike by Washington.

Abdullah Abdullah, CEO of the Afghan government, said Mansour’s demise would positively affect endeavours to convey peace to Afghanistan, where the Taliban has been pursuing a rebellion for 15 years.

Mansour was the “main figure preventing the Taliban joining the peace process”, he said.

“From the day he took over the Taliban following the death of Mullah Omer, he intensified violence against ordinary citizens, especially in Afghanistan”.